let's say you're deep in a show or a game or the game. on a train, at home, at work. okay, maybe not at work. point is at xfinity. we're constantly engineering new ways to get the entertainment you love to you faster and easier than ever. that's what i do. is that love island? 1-800-290-7477 hello, i'm craig melvin, and this is "dateline." andrea canning: everyone says that you and your sister were your mom's life. yeah. amazing person, committed to family, committed to my sister and i. and then five years later, gone.

craig melvin: she was a gorgeous girl, a model who became a mom. i said, "you guys made some good looking kids." oh, they sure did. craig melvin: on the eve of her son's fifth birthday, she vanished. the whole time we're all trying to talk without the kids hearing us, about where is she, what happened. craig melvin: when a woman disappears, we know police will have questions for the man in her life. in this case, that wouldn't be so simple. there was the estranged husband who admitted to an argument that once landed him in jail. she came at me and i grabbed her by the arms. and then she called the police. craig melvin: then, there was the secret boyfriend who wasn't telling all he knew. it was suspicious to police that he wasn't up front about that from the beginning. craig melvin: and there was a third man, the former colleague with a crush. cliff shared with friends that he had found the love of his life. so you have three potential suspects. yeah, it's a tangle. craig melvin: could investigators unravel it? we're asking ourselves what does this mean.

craig melvin: would her family ever find justice? it's just 17 years of built up emotion, you know? [suspenseful music] hello, and welcome to "dateline." they say good things come in small packages. sandi johnson's family and friends would agree. the young mom was petite, pretty, and devoted to her two kids. but when she went missing, police wondered if sandi's home life was as happy as it seemed. they quickly uncovered a web of romantic relationships and a dark mystery that would take years to solve. here's andrea canning with "the disappearance of sandi johnson." andrea canning: it's a celebration no mother would ever want to miss, a child's fifth birthday. but suddenly, she was gone, out of his life.

there's nothing that anybody can really do to fix that or, you know, repair that missing part. andrea canning: his mother, sandi johnson, was outgoing, energetic, and an awesome mom. those kids were everything to her. andrea canning: so why wasn't she there to sing "happy birthday" to her son? all they knew was that she just disappeared into thin air. andrea canning: she should have seen you get married. she should have seen you go into the military and become a police officer one day. it's the toughest thing i've ever had to deal with. andrea canning: it was heartbreaking and baffling. it was a true mystery as to what happened to sandi. andrea canning: that true mystery, what happened to the vibrant young mom who vanished from a seattle suburb, endured for years. those who loved sandi johnson, those who longed for her return waited almost two decades for answers and a slice of justice.

the story starts in april 1996, april 26 to be precise, a friday in the seattle area. the weather was doing what it does in this part of the world-- clouding up and spritzing rain. that day, sandi johnson, a 28-year-old wife and mother, had a to-do list as long as her arm. she was going to run and do all her errands that day to get ready for her son's birthday party the next day. vicky fulkerson was a good friend of sandi's. they bonded in the hospital after their sons, both premature, were born on the same day. sandi was a little younger than vicky, a tiny woman with a huge zest for life. oh, i loved being around sandi. and it just seemed like she really cared about people. andrea canning: no one knew that better than sandi's cousins, gina boone and nanci brown. they all grew up together. sandi is action, action, move, go, do do,

talkative, laugh always. she's a mile a minute. nanci brown: and beautiful. gina boone: gorgeous. nanci brown: tiny little thing. tiny. she wore like a double zero. she modeled, even? she did some modeling, actually, yeah. i think i remember she did some kind of a bridal thing at one time. andrea canning: that friday, sandi took the day off from her job at a car dealership to prepare for the party. sandi's husband greg says she was always a mom first. everything was about the kids, you know? so everything revolved around the kids. how excited was she to be a mom? i think she was really excited. i think that's what she wanted. yeah, she liked it. andrea canning: sandi had a plan. the kids would spend the day with vicky while she zipped around town. that morning she left vicky a message on her phone. but 4 o'clock came and went, and no sandi.

vicky's hands were full with her kids and sandi's. at first she wasn't too concerned. maybe around 4:30 or 5:00 i started calling her. because i thought, "you're not here yet, sandi." and it just wasn't like her. and i was just feeling frustrated. andrea canning: the hours went by, and still no sandi. vicky's frustration turned to anger. but then, she started to worry. around 7:00 that night, she began working the phones. and we started calling greg, you know, then we started hospitals, the police. we were just on the phones. we were worried. andrea canning: vicky and her husband kept sandi's kids at their home that night. did you sleep at all that night? no, probably not much. i don't really remember. it's a fog. it's unreal. where is she? what could have happened to her? so the next morning, still-- we had to get up and get-- no. --no sandi. no sandi. had to get up and get ready to go to the birthday party. just told sean, it's ok, you know, your mom will be there. andrea canning: meanwhile, greg johnson

was looking around his home. there was nothing to indicate that sandi had left in a hurry and somehow forgot to tell anyone, as strange as that would be. all her stuff was there. called the police, called, you know, family, my sister. i think i probably called her father. were you in a full-on panic at this point or are you still kind of like, ok, you know what? maybe she ended up going out with some friends or-- no, i was pretty worried. just the circumstances that were at the house, i knew there was trouble or something not right. andrea canning: the birthday party for sean went ahead on saturday. there was a cake and some presents, but no sandi. the adults huddled and whispered. the whole time, we're all trying to talk without the kids hearing us about, "where is she? what happened?" i think we made a second call to the police department in the afternoon. did you think, ok, we've got this party. sandi will show up for the party. that was our hope.

we all tried to proceed as normal. greg was crying like crazy, just, you know, he had glasses on. he was trying to hide it. but, you know, there were tears. andrea canning: do you remember anything about that day, your fifth birthday? unfortunately, i don't, you know? andrea canning: but sean johnson knows that was the day his life changed forever, the day the awful questions started. why isn't my mom around? you know, why would this happen, you know? andrea canning: they were the very questions the police would start asking, too. because that same night they were called to a seattle supermarket. store employees had noticed an abandoned vehicle in the parking lot. it was sandi johnson's car. her keys were in it, so was her cell phone. but there was no sign of sandi. craig melvin: coming up, that first break finding sandi's car gives police hope. but a second clue will throw them for a loop.

we're asking ourselves, how does this come together? what does this mean? craig melvin: when "dateline" continues. do your dry eyes still feel gritty, rough, or tired? with miebo, eyes can feel ♪ miebo ohh yeah ♪ miebo is the only prescription dry eye drop that forms a protective layer for the number one cause of dry eye: too much tear evaporation. for relief that's ♪ miebo ohh yeah ♪ remove contact lenses before using miebo. wait at least 30 minutes before putting them back in. eye redness and blurred vision may occur. what does treating dry eye differently feel like? ♪ miebo ohh yeah ♪ for relief that feels ♪ miebo ohh yeah ♪ ask your eye doctor about prescription miebo. when you really need to sleep. you reach for the really good stuff. ohh yeah ♪ zzzquil ultra helps you sleep better

and longer when you need it most. its non-habit forming and powered by the makers of nyquil. empire was amazing. the price that i got along with the service, the special attention, the one on one you can't beat that. (800) 588-2300. >> empire. >> today. an evening in front of the fire can be so relaxing. but dangerous creosote buildup can cause a chimney fire if not removed. help protect your home with csl. the creosote sweeping log, it helps clean your chimney while it burns. inside your chimney walls, there's a constant buildup of flammable tar and creosote. the active minerals in csl will reduce those dangerous deposits, making your next fire safer. it's so easy. burn just once every 65 years. csl the creosote sweeping y(auctioneer) let's start theing lbidding at 5 million dollars. (man) robinhood gold members get a 3% ira match.

while the wealthy hoard their perks, our retirement contributions are boosted by 3%. now with robinhood gold.

and you shouldn't either join me@chime.com and get paid. >> when you say donald trump plans to reshape the u.s. government, democrats have wasted no time in laying the groundwork to fight the incoming trump administration. >> donald trump wants a presidential cabinet full of loyalists. >> don't miss the weekend, saturday and sunday mornings at 8:00 on msnbc. >> each week on my podcast, i'm joined by uniquely qualified guests who help me take a big picture look at the issues like representative jasmine crockett, late night host seth meyers, former attorney general eric holder, and many more. holder, and many more. >> why is t andrea canning: hours after sandi johnson was reported missing, the police made a disturbing discovery. sandi's car, a ford escort station wagon like this one, was found in the parking lot of a seattle grocery store. the doors were unlocked, the keys were in the ignition.

sandi's cell phone was lying on the seat, but sandi herself was nowhere to be found. cousins gina and nanci. when they found sandi's car, did you go from thinking, ok, she's missing maybe we'll find her, to-- - she's gone. --there's a chance-- she's gone. she's gone. i figured if someone had her, that's it. andrea canning: captain scott strathey, since retired, was a detective for the king county sheriff's department back in 1996. it must have been extremely alarming, from the perspective of law enforcement, when you find sandi's car abandoned with the keys and her cell phone inside. at least it gave us an area to focus upon. the vehicle was located in southwestern king county. andrea canning: the cops noted an unusual detail. the driver's seat was pushed back. sandi, who was tiny, drove with the seat in the forward position as close to the steering wheel

as possible. then, just as they were processing the car, the cops got another break. sandi's wallet was located lying in the parking lot of a hardware store. oddly enough, it was miles from her car. they were puzzled. we're asking ourselves, how does this come together? what does this mean? and what does it tell you when you find a car and a wallet and no sandi? well, sandi clearly had been taken away from her vehicle in some manner. and at that point, we were very focused on why was this vehicle located here? why was her wallet found across town? andrea canning: to detectives, it all added up to foul play. it was a very strange and compelling case, a mother of two small children essentially just dropped off the radar screen. was it baffling to the whole police department what happened to sandi? yeah, her disappearance became a priority with the sheriff's

office right away. andrea canning: sandi's friends and family put up flyers and joined search parties in the greater seattle area. but there was one notable exception. were you participating in the search? not too much. why not? you know, i just couldn't do that, you know? i just pretty much stayed around the house with the kids and family. did anyone question that, why isn't he out looking for her? they never questioned me. maybe amongst themselves, i don't know. andrea canning: but detectives were already taking a good long look at sandi johnson's husband, digging for details about the state of the couple's marriage. the first thing you're doing is looking at those people that are closest to the person that is missing, you have to. so it made perfect sense to focus on the husband early on. it always seems like the spouse. in this particular case, we really didn't know the dynamics of what had happened in their marriage.

i mean, it's up to us to find out what are the details. andrea canning: detectives learned that sandi met greg at a hockey game in 1990. she pursued him, and he fell fast. she had a lot of energy, a lot of spunk. you seem like you might be a little more low key. i am. was she a good compliment to you? did it fit? i think so, yeah. andrea canning: in late 1990, sandi got pregnant and the couple married. sean was born in 1991, daughter katie followed. for the next few years, the couple's life was hectic but happy. but in early 1996, four months before sandi disappeared, the marriage hit a rough patch. greg moved out of the house. friends told the police there were money pressures, among other things. what went wrong with the relationship? i think she said she couldn't talk to me or communicate with me. and you know, we'd seen a marriage counselor. and we were working on some stuff. and i think it was getting, you know, better.

you wanted to get back together? yeah, i wasn't against that at all. andrea canning: but law enforcement developed a very different portrait of the marriage and the chances for reconciliation. kristin richardson and carla carlstrom prosecuted the case for king county. they were talking about divorce. they had gotten to the point. and it was sort of assumed that they would be divorced. so that was pretty recent before this had happened, within the month before that decision had been made. andrea canning: and then investigators discovered something else that troubled them. law enforcement learned that they had argued only the day before she had gone missing. there had been sort of a big argument witnessed by other people at her place of work. so that too focused some attention on her estranged husband. and the argument was over money, which was a frequent point of dispute for them. she had trouble, he had trouble sort of meeting their bills. andrea canning: investigators questions were mounting.

they had a couple with money problems, a troubled marriage, a husband who didn't search for his wife and fought with her the day before she disappeared. it was time to sit down with greg johnson. how did they treat you in that first encounter, the police? yeah they were like, you know, you did it, you know, accusing me of killing my wife, told my sister that, you know, greg, you know, did it. andrea canning: the usual suspect was starting to look like the right guy. craig melvin: coming up. she called me one time and just, like, "it's getting really bad. it's to a point, and i'm just afraid." craig melvin: when "dateline" continues. dupixent can help people with asthma breathe better in as little as 2 weeks. so this is better. and this. dupixent is an add-on treatment for specific types of moderate-to-severe asthma. it's not for sudden breathing problems and doesn't replace a rescue inhaler.

it's proven to help prevent asthma attacks. severe allergic reactions can occur. get help right away for face, mouth, tongue or throat swelling, wheezing or trouble breathing. tell your doctor right away of signs of inflamed blood vessels like rash, chest pain, worsening shortness of breath, tingling or numbness in limbs. tell your doctor of new or worsening joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop steroid, asthma, or other treatments without talking to your doctor. ask your specialist about dupixent. long after guests leave, viruses and bacteria linger. air fresheners add a scent. but only lysol air sanitizer helps erase the trace, eliminating odor and killing 99.9% of viruses and bacteria in the air. scent can't sanitize. lysol can. yet, it's bulky and so disorganized. but not anymore because slim is in. introducing

slim men, an ultra thin rfid blocking wallet that keeps your cards and cash truly protected, and now may be your last chance to get it for a low price. slim men uses the latest rfid blocking technology to prevent thieves from scanning your wallet and stealing your info. having your information stolen is a nightmare, but with slim mint, i know i'm protected with money clips. cash can easily fall out, but with the auto locking slim mint, your cards and money stay securely in place. then just press the button to release the lock. slim men is ergonomically designed to optimize space and keep your belongings organized. it has a built in cash clip and a flexible outer band to securely fit your additional cards and your extra cash. even with everything you see here in the slim mint, it's still ultra thin. bulky wallets are uncomfortable, but the slim mint is so compact it fits in any size pocket. plus, it keeps everything easy to access. >> slim mint holds everything from pictures to credit cards. >> my driver's license. yet it's still so thin. >> say bye bye to bent cards and

damaged magnetic strips. slim mint keeps them protected. it's crush resistant and can really take a beating. similar wallets sell for over $100, but call or click now and get slim for just 29.99. order in the next five minutes and you'll get an instant $10 discount, so it's only 19.99. but wait. due to rising costs and supply chain shortages, this may be your last chance to get slim mint at this low price. there's a strict limit of three slim mint wallets while supplies last. you still have time to get your very own slim mint wallets, but you must act fast. don't wait. order now. call one 800 618 4210. >> that's one 800 618 4210. call or visit. slim mint wallet.com. so call one 800 618 4210. >> now. ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba. >> plane's gone down 165 seats empty. >> that doesn't strike you as odd. >> why is there so much secrecy around this? >> your government knew. they all knew. >> the truth must be known. when

you need brutal honesty. when you need answers. first thing in the morning. when you need to go deep inside washington and hear from someone who's been there. >> you need your morning joe >> you need your morning joe weekdays at 6:00 only on andrea canning: sandi johnson was missing. police believe she had been killed and they were zeroing in on her estranged husband greg. his world had turned upside down. my life changed fast. i mean, i can tell you stories. you know, i come home from work and there's three or four tv stations in front of your house ready to do the 5 o'clock news. andrea canning: the more investigators talked to sandi's family and friends about the couples on-the-rocks marriage, the more suspicious they became of greg. sandi had confided in her cousin gina boone that living with greg had gotten very difficult. she called me one time and just, like, "it's, you know, it's getting really bad.

it's to a point, and i'm just afraid." and i tried to get more information out of her. but she just said, "i can't talk about it. i just--" i said, "you've got to do what you got to do." andrea canning: the evidence wasn't just anecdotal. a loud argument between the couple more than a year before sandi went missing had ended with police responding and greg spending the night in jail. how bad did it get? how i got in jail, you mean? well, she came at me and i grabbed her by the arms and sat her down. i didn't hit her or nothing. and then she called the police. and because she had-- there was marks on her arms. anytime there's a domestic dispute, cops are called, somebody goes to jail. so i'm the one who went to jail. andrea canning: investigators found the domestic violence incident troubling. and when they looked for a possible motive, they found one of the classics-- money. were you able to collect a life insurance policy? i did, yes. and how much was that?

it wasn't that much. but, uh-- do you have a number? i know what it was. [laughs] i'm not gonna say. but it was a substantial amount of money, yeah. andrea canning: investigators were more and more convinced they had their man. the polygraph they gave greg just days after sandi vanished was key. they asked me if i would be willing to take a polygraph just to clear my name or whatever. i said sure. i had nothing to hide. what i know was that the polygraph was inconclusive. so i guess at that point, they thought it was me. they probably thought it was me before the polygraph. the police actually say you failed the polygraph test. yeah, i'm sure they did. so you're disputing that? i am. it was-- yeah, it was inconclusive results on the polygraph. andrea canning: cops felt he failed it. and the results made them even more certain they were on the right track. king county prosecuting attorneys kristin richardson and carla carlstrom.

greg had not done well on a polygraph test. so they asked if he would take another test. he called a lawyer. the lawyer said you need to stop talking to the police right now, and so he did. it must have been a big red flag for police. yes, i think it was. i think whenever someone flunks a polygraph test, police get very concerned and suspicious and often want to go at that person harder and find out why. andrea canning: greg may have lawyered up, but detectives used those polygraph results to turn up the pressure. they told your sister you failed-- mm-hmm. andrea canning: --a polygraph test? yes. why? i guess they just wanted to try to turn her against me. andrea canning: lots of people in town were turning in that direction. in those first dark weeks after sandi went missing, her dear friend vicky fulkerson started to think greg was somehow involved. the police came to me and said certain things that would lead you to think that maybe he did it. what did they tell you that made you start to suspect greg? well, he didn't pass the test. andrea canning: the polygraph? --that there was people at the work party had heard

them fighting, just enough that it's like, could he have done it? andrea canning: cops were starting to think so, especially when they considered the domestic incident that put greg in jail, that argument at the dealership the night before sandi disappeared, and the possible money motive. given the history with greg, was the family immediately looking to greg as a possible-- mm-hmm. yes. andrea canning: --suspect in this? yeah. were there some family members convinced greg must have done this? i think a few were pretty-- you know, you gotta put the blame on someone, 100%. how was sandi's family looking at you? there was a bunch that, you know, thought that i was the person. and you're telling everyone, i didn't do this? right. and there are people who just are not believing you. yeah, you know, and i get the fact that it's, you know, 90% of the time, it's the husband or the boyfriend,

i get that. but it wasn't this time. did you feel, in this case, that you were target number one? oh, yeah. i was the only target. andrea canning: but greg johnson was wrong about that. clue by clue, investigators were uncovering secrets of sandi's, things her estranged husband didn't know that would provide them intriguing new suspects. craig melvin: detectives discover what sandi's been hiding-- a man named jeff. did he also have a secret? coming up. that was suspicious to police that he wasn't up front about that from the beginning. craig melvin: and then, a former colleague of sandi's, was he hiding something, too? cliff looked to be doing everything he could to present himself as a caring and concerned friend. we found out that that was not the real cliff reed. craig melvin: when "dateline" continues.

hey, i just got a text from my sister. you remember rick, her neighbor? sure, he's the 76-year-old guy who still runs marathons, right? sadly, not anymore. wow. so sudden. um, we're not about to have the "we need life insurance" conversation again, are we? no, we're having the "we're getting coverage so we don't have to worry about it" conversation. so you're calling about the $9.95 a month plan -from colonial penn? -i am. we put it off long enough. we are getting that $9.95 plan, today. (jonathan) is it time for you to call about the $9.95 plan? i'm jonathan from colonial penn life insurance company. sometimes we just need a reminder not to take today for granted. if you're age 50 to 85, you can get guaranteed acceptance whole life insurance starting at just $9.95 a month. there are no health questions so you can't be turned down for any health reason. the $9.95 plan is colonial penn's number one most popular whole life plan.

options start at just $9.95 a month. that's less than 35 cents a day. your rate can never go up. it's locked in for life. call today for free information. and you'll also get this free beneficiary planner, so call now. (soft music) ♪ hello, colonial penn? >> improve your protection against trackers, malicious against trackers, malicious websites and malware are you 50 or older? well, this news is for you. the cdc now recommends you get vaccinated against pneumococcal pneumonia. why? if you're 50 or older even if you're healthy... you're 6 times more likely to be hospitalized. so, schedule at vaxassist.com.

dave's been very excited about saving big with the comcast business 5-year price lock guarantee. to be hospitalized. five years? -five years. and he's not alone. -high five. it's five years of reliable gig speed internet. five years of advanced securit. five years of a great rate that won't change. it's back. but only for a limited time. high five. five years? -nope. comcast business 5-year price lock guarantee. powering five years of savings. powering possibilities. comcast business.

for falsifying business records in order to keep an adult film star quiet ahead of the 2016 election. the sentence carried no jail time, probation or fine. trump vows to appeal. he will now be the first convicted felon sworn in as president, and the supreme court appeared likely to uphold a law that would effectively ban tiktok in the united states. the court seemed skeptical of tiktok's free speech arguments when weighed against the government's need to protect national security. tiktok is owned by china based tiktok is owned by china based bytedance. for now, back welcome back to "dateline." i'm craig melvin. sandi johnson was missing, and detectives had been looking into her estranged husband greg. the couple's crumbling marriage and money problems pointed to a possible motive. but as investigators retraced sandi's steps in the hours

before she vanished, they discovered a stunning secret and an entirely new person of interest. here again is andrea canning with "the disappearance of sandi johnson." andrea canning: the search for the person responsible for the disappearance of sandi johnson from a seattle suburb was widening. we had to look at everyone close to sandi at that point in time. andrea canning: investigators discovered that the recently separated sandi had a friend named jeff kane she kept secret from her estranged husband. she was supposed to meet kane for lunch the day after she disappeared. cops soon learned there had been more than lunch on the menu. after work on that friday, sandi had popped by kane's house to touch up her tan. she was there the night before she went missing. she had used the tanning bed, i believe. and they were going to contact each other by phone the following morning. andrea canning: that revelation made kane the last person

known to have seen sandi alive. cops brought him in for questioning. according to prosecutors, he was alarmed after he learned sandi was missing. he was worried about that. and he tried to get a hold of her and couldn't get a hold of her, tried to find her. and so he finally went over to her house and left a note on the door because he was worried because she had just not shown up for lunch. and he was one of the last known people to have spoken to her on that friday. and in fact, i think she had spoken to him more recently than she had spoken to her husband. andrea canning: but when detectives reinterviewed sandi's friend, they grew more suspicious. it turned out kane hadn't been totally candid with them about the nature of his relationship with sandi. he initially held back that they had ever had a romantic or sexual relationship. that came out a little bit later, which also was a little bit suspicious to police that he wasn't upfront about that from the beginning. why did he hold back on that? i don't know. perhaps he was concerned about just, in general, she was married woman. he didn't want that to get out. andrea canning: as they had with husband greg, cops put kane on a polygraph machine.

he passed the test and offered an alibi. cops told him he could go home for now. when they further laid out their timeline of sandi's last days, detectives discovered jeff kane wasn't the only man sandi was supposed to meet. there was another guy, a former co-worker named cliff reed who had befriended sandi. sandi planned to stop by reed's home to pick up a present for her son the day before his birthday party. cliff reed told cops she never turned up. husband greg knew reed from when he had visited the house. i think the first i met him he was gonna fix my car for me. and then he stayed for dinner. what did you think of him? you know, he seemed like a nice guy. andrea canning: on the face of it, greg's appraisal of sandi's co-worker seemed right. detective strathey says sandi and cliff reed were drawn together by mutual need. did sandi see cliff as someone she could lean on for help, being a single mom at the time? i think sandi was going through a traumatic time

in her life. she was separated from her husband, had some financial challenges. and cliff reed was someone at work that would listen to what she had to say, would offer support. and he actually helped her financially. so he was there for her. cliff was there. he'd given a loan to sandi of about $1,800, at some point, prior to her disappearance. andrea canning: despite his apparent generosity, there was something about cliff the co-worker the cops weren't buying. cliff looked to be doing everything he could to present himself to sandi as a normal and caring and concerned friend. we clearly found out as we looked closer into cliff reed that that was not the real cliff reed. andrea canning: in fact, reed had a troubling history with women. cliff didn't like women at all.

cliff was a misogynist. and cliff had very bad names for women that he felt had done him wrong and basically from what we could tell just had a sort of generalized hatred for the female person. apart from being sort of self-centered and narcissistic, he constantly thought that women were doing him wrong. andrea canning: but none of that was against the law. cops had no reason to hold him. weeks went by without an arrest, and all detectives had was a trio of suspects. as the investigation dragged on, greg, now a single parent, was trying to get on with his life, working at boeing and raising his two kids. did you think sandi was dead in your heart? yeah. you accepted that? yeah. how hard was that? it was hard. andrea canning: as months and then years passed, sandi's friends and family struggled to keep her in the public's memory.

her good friend seana barker took the lead. we try to keep the story alive. every year the news media would come on the anniversary of her disappearance and try to talk to us and ask us. and you know, i try to talk and keep the story in the news media. andrea canning: just before sean's 10th birthday 5 years after his mother vanished, greg moved the family to las vegas. he had had enough of the seattle area and wanted a fresh start without a cloud of suspicion hanging over him. as sean grew up there, greg and his son talked a lot about sandi. did you have a lot of questions? yeah, i mean, why isn't my mom around? you know, who did it? like, why, you know, why would this happen? andrea canning: and detectives back in washington state had no answers for him. with no body, no new leads, and no new suspects the investigation was dead in the water. the case must have been growing colder by the day. i'm sure-- - it was. --you must have felt that way. absolutely. did you, at some point, feel like we've

kind of got to give up on this until something comes our way? yeah. on the other hand, we knew somewhere, some day sandi would be found. and the hope was that when that happened, there would be some type of evidence that would assist us in putting this case together. andrea canning: they were about to get their wish. craig melvin: coming up, all the men in sandi's life claim they didn't see her the day she disappeared. which one of them is lying? the neighbor saw her car, recognized her car parked outside his house. craig melvin: when "dateline" continues. two mac strength pain relievers. ice works fast. heat makes it last. icy hot pro

massaging balm consumer cellular ranked number one in network coverage and customer satisfaction. >> hi, my friend linda has you guys. it gets way better coverage than i do. >> sounds like linda has you beat only in coverage and plans start at $20. >> okay. >> price to get your second month free when you switch to consumer cellular. >> i don't want a ding on my good credit. >> so i'm using experian to find cards with no ding decline. >> see these? >> they say no ding decline. which means if i get denied, my fico score won't get a ding. >> sounds good to me. get the free experian app now! >> i've watched my daughter's struggle with her skin, and as a mom, i want her to feel confident and happy. i was shocked to learn towels can carry harmful bacteria that may disrupt the skin's protective barrier. that's why our family switched to clean towels. >> they're one time use face towels, clinically shown to keep your skin barrier strong and healthy. in a recent clinical study, 100% of participants saw an improvement in their overall skin health. >> join over 1 million happy families and make the switch to

families and make the switch to clean towe (♪♪) years of hard work. decades of dedication. committed to giving back. you've been there, done that. and you're still here for more. so now that you're 50 or older, and at increased risk for pneumococcal pneumonia and ipd be proactive with capvaxive- a vaccine specifically designed for adults to help protect against pneumonia and invasive disease caused by certain types of pneumococcal bacteria. capvaxive is the only vaccine that helps protect against the strains that cause 84% of ipd in adults 50 or older compared with up to 52% by other pneumococcal conjugate vaccines. don't get capvaxive if you're allergic to the vaccine or its ingredients. tell your doctor if you have a weakened immune system. common side effects include injection-site reactions, feeling tired, headache, muscle aches, and fever. whether you've had another pneumococcal vaccine or not ask your doctor or pharmacist about capvaxive. (♪♪)

everything. >> that we need to get it done and get it done right. >> the new flooring just changes your whole house. (auctioneer) let's start the bidding at 5 million dollars. (man) robinhood gold members get a 3% ira match. while the wealthy hoard their perks, our retirement contributions are boosted by 3%. now with robinhood gold. coverage if i switch. >> yep. >> for unlimited talk and text with reliable coverage and your second month free call, consumer cellular new reaction now is the result of the presidential election. >> reverberate. >> president elect trump's return to the white house has shaken nato allies. the federal reserve is widely expected to

lower interest rates. >> firefighters on both coasts battling dangerous blazes from philadelphia to new hampshire, in israel, in el paso, from in israel, in el paso, from msnbc world headquarters. andrea canning: it's hard to let go of hope. sean johnson could barely remember his mother, yet he never stopped imagining her coming back into his life. i just remember being there, thinking , like-- like, she's gonna return sooner or later, you know? she has to, you know, walk through the door. andrea canning: but it was not to be. one august day in 2004, a highway worker in rural washington noticed something strange just off the road. it was a shallow grave. investigators recovered skeletal remains. dental records reveal it was sandi. i was in seventh grade. i just remember i'm coming home from school and i asked my dad like, you know, why is there, you know, reporters trying to talk to us or whatever?

my dad explained to us that they had found her remains. andrea canning: finally, sandi's family had the cold comfort of a funeral. greg brought his kids back to washington for the service. it was a difficult day for everyone, especially greg. there were some at that funeral who still wondered if he had a role in sandi's death. how were you received at sandi's funeral? were some people angry you were there? i think there were some people that still didn't like me, you know, family members that didn't like me. the people that were behind me in the beginning, those are the ones that i stayed with, you know, and hung out with. i don't have time for those people that were against me. andrea canning: among the mourners at sandi service that day were detectives from the cold case squad. the discovery of her bones had jumpstarted their investigation. and cops were now taking a cold, hard look at everything and everyone all over again.

the coroner did an autopsy. investigators hoped they'd find something that would point them in the direction of sandi's killer or at least tell them how she died, but no luck. there was so much decomposition and so little left that there was absolutely no way to tell what killed her. we could not say why sandi johnson died. and that's because she was so well hidden for so long. andrea canning: where sandi's remains were recovered added another piece to the investigative puzzle. it fit the mo of the notorious green river killer, gary ridgway. he murdered scores of women in washington and disposed of some of them in the area where sandi's bones were found. i do. andrea canning: ridgway's victims were almost all believed to be prostitutes. now king county cops had to make sure there wasn't something they'd missed earlier about sandi. was it ever posed to her family, did she ever engage in prostitution? a hard question, but-- i believe that someone, a detective asked her mom that.

and it was not well received, as you can imagine. sandi was not a prostitute. and that would be heart ripping to hear a question like that, even though it had to be asked. andrea canning: police, then, ruled out the green river killer. detectives circled back to the secret boyfriend jeff kane. they came away convinced he had nothing to do with sandi's death. jeff kane was cleared. as for husband greg who had done so many things that raised suspicion early on, ultimately he had an alibi that checked out. he clocked in and out of his job at boeing the day sandi went missing. colleagues had seen him there. and after work, he was with friends who vouched for him. finally, greg johnson was off the list. how well do you remember that moment where the police came to see you and said you're not a suspect anymore? i remember it very well. it was a relief. it was a good day for me, it really was.

andrea canning: that left sandi's friend from work, cliff reed. cold case detective jim allen, now retired, decided to see if he could find some physical evidence tying cliff reed to the death of sandi johnson. it turned out the passage of time in the case gave police new tools. forensics had changed over the years. so there was the potential of testing a lot of things that wouldn't have been able to be tested back then for dna, specifically. they went back to where cliff reed had lived in 1996 all these years later and tore the place apart. they found what looked to them like a bloodstain under the carpet. could it be something? jim allen: we took all the carpet from his room. andrea canning: they still had sandi's teal green ford wagon. they ripped that apart, too. we re-searched her car and collected some more evidence and had that tested to see if we could find anything. andrea canning: this sort of analysis churned slowly. in 2006, cold case detectives began

working with prosecutors kristin richardson and carla carlstrom. investigators dug deeper into cliff reed's story. they were learning more and more and more about cliff's lies and sort of his relationship with sandi and some specifics about that day that didn't add up. for instance, sandi had taken that friday, april 26 off work to get ready for sean's birthday. among her errands, she told friends she was picking up a birthday present for sean from cliff reed. cliff reed never acknowledged that sandi was to come to his house that day or had ever come to his house that day. he said he'd last seen her two weeks before. andrea canning: what's more, cliff reed's neighbor told police sandi must have been there that day. the neighbor saw her car, recognized her car parked outside his house. andrea canning: that was troubling to police, but more incriminating was this. that same neighbor said he saw cliff reed driving sandi's car away from the apartment that day.

and that grocery store lot where sandi's car was found? it was within walking distance of cliff's apartment, just over a mile away. cliff's neighbors remembered him walking home from the direction of the store the day she disappeared. cliff told detectives he'd gone out for some air. this was very much out of character in speaking with the people that know cliff best. cliff reed was not the kind of person that would just willy-nilly go out for a walk. andrea canning: and they were very suspicious of this fact-- cliff, who was notoriously messy, chose the day after sandi's disappearance to clean his apartment top to bottom. after she disappeared, he vacuumed the entire house, he rented a carpet cleaner, cleaned the house, he got rid of the vacuum bag. andrea canning: it turns out that cliff reed had a bitter history with two ex-wives. and police had learned about allegations of a violent episode cliff reed had with an escort he'd hired two months before sandi went missing.

cliff reed was on top of her strangling her, threatening to shoot her, groping her underneath her clothing. andrea canning: that case never went anywhere, but it raised red flags for the cops looking into sandi johnson's death. at that point, we realized my goodness, could this similar scenario have played out at cliff's residence with sandi johnson being the victim? andrea canning: and the motive? police say they found one. cliff reed was obsessed with sandi johnson. cliff shared with friends that he had found the love of his life. andrea canning: reed's friends used words like "enthralled," "head over heels," to describe to detectives reed's feelings about sandi. he said he was going to marry sandi and had even bought a bigger car to haul her kids around in. the trouble was, the feelings apparently weren't mutual. she had expressed to at least one of her friends that her frustration was growing, that he wanted more than she wanted and that it was never going to be that.

it was just the day before she went missing that sandi had told a co-worker reed had become a problem and he needed to understand that she was not interested. police wondered whether sandi had chosen that morning when she went to cliff's house to get that gift to set him straight. and if so, had she paid for it with her life? i think that sandi was probably the first attractive female that had ever been nice to him. and that's what did her in. he created this fantasy world around her because she was nice to him. and when she finally wised up and called it off and said nothing's going to happen, he killed her. andrea canning: for police, the pieces seem to be falling into place in the investigation into sandi johnson's death, even as they waited for the forensic results to come back. meanwhile, her friends and family kept faith. eventually, there would be justice for sandi. did you start to feel, again, that maybe this isn't going to happen?

i was hopeful. all i can say is i was hopeful. craig melvin: coming up, just as this case finally gets going, a major speed bump. how frustrating is that? very craig melvin: and then, for this family that's been through so much, a heart stopping moment. all i could feel was just this rush, just hot blood. it was tough. craig melvin: when "dateline" continues. some people just know they could save hundreds on car insurance by checking allstate first. okay, let's get going. can everybody see that? like you know to check your desktop first, before sharing your screen. ahh..that is not. uhh, oh no. no no no. i don't know how that got in there. no. that, uhh. yeah, checking first is smart. okay, uhh. everybody get out. so check allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds. you're in good hands with allstate. we're in a limestone cave, letting extreme residue build up to put

finish jet dry to the test. dishwashers are designed to use jet dry to defend against tough residues for a practically spotless shine. [coughing] copd is an ugly reality. do you have his medical history? i watch as his world just keeps getting smaller. but then, trelegy helped us see things a little differently. with 3 medicines in 1 inhaler, trelegy keeps airways open for a full 24 hours and prevents future flare-ups. once-daily trelegy also improves lung function, so he can breathe more freely all day and night. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. do not take trelegy more than prescribed. trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. ♪♪

♪what a wonderful world♪ ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy for copd because breathing should be beautiful, all day and night. the first time you try bounce, it hits you. your laundry feels way fresher, softer. so you start to wonder, if i put a sheet of bounce on the finance guy, will it make him softer? bounce can't do it all, but for better laundry. ♪ put a sheet on it with bounce ♪ and get it done right. the new flooring just changes your whole house. h(auctioneer) let's start the >bidding at 5 million dollars. (man) robinhood gold members get a 3% ira match. while the wealthy hoard their perks, our retirement contributions are boosted by 3%. now with robinhood gold.

my score is up 100 points. join

andrea canning: investigators had been building their case against cliff reed, and now it was decision time for prosecutors kristin richardson and carla carlstrom. in 2012, 16 years after sandi johnson vanished, police had plenty of circumstantial evidence, but years of forensic testing still could not link him to sandi's death. it came back zero. how frustrating was that? very. it would've been nice to have some dna. that would have been nice. but we had tried everything that we could. the prosecutors faced a tough choice-- charge cliff reed with murder and risk losing a potentially unwinnable case or leave sandi's case unresolved, which as it turns out, had happened before. back in the late '90s, cliff reed had been briefly charged with sandi johnson's murder. but prosecutors back then thought the case was just too thin to go forward. the question always has to be, is there any chance the case

is going to improve if we wait? and in this case, there was absolutely nothing left to be done. so no, it was not going to improve. it was now or never. they chose now. we try hard cases and we're successful at it. andrea canning: after all, they did have reed's lies, a neighbor who saw him driving her car, a witness who saw reed cleaning his house the day after sandi disappeared, and most importantly, his obsession with her. cliff reed was arrested in montana. he was extradited to washington state and charged with second degree murder. sean, who had last seen his mother when he was just five, was now grown up, a medic in the army, when he heard the news from one of his mom's friends. i got a call from her. it just blew me away, you know? it must have just flared things up again for you, though, emotionally. it's like reopening like a cut, and then rubbing salt in it. why the inconsistencies?

andrea canning: going to trial was a roll of the dice for both sides. prosecutors would have to win a difficult case with no forensic evidence. the biggest problem we had is that cliff managed to succeed in one crucial point. and that is that he hid sandi's body. and we had no way to prove how she died. andrea canning: without that proof of how she died, it would be hard to say cliff reed had intended to kill sandi. for the defendant, there was also a risk that a jury would find the prosecutors circumstantial case convincing. cliff reed and his attorney knew that he was facing a real chance of being convicted of murder in the second degree, which can carry up to 20 years. andrea canning: so prosecutors put a plea bargain on the table, and the aging reed made his choice. guilty. andrea canning: they made a deal. cliff reed pleaded guilty, not to murder but to manslaughter.

the good thing about a plea is that it avoids not only the risk of losing a trial or a hung jury, but the appeal and everything that drags on forever. and this family had to deal with this loss three times, first when sandi disappeared, second when her remains were found, and third when charges were filed. the case was stirred up all again. bailiff: please rise. the court is now in session. andrea canning: on april 11 2014, sandi's family was in court to see cliff reed sentenced. what was it like for you seeing him in that courtroom? i mean, all i could feel was just this rush of just, you know, hot blood, you know? it was tough. it was tough. andrea canning: cliff reed got less than four years in prison, as mandated by washington law. how do you feel about that, the fact that he's doing time, but not a lot? it's not a whole lot. that guy killed my mom, you know? everybody knows it.

andrea canning: cliff reed's plea wasn't just any plea, it was an alford plea, meaning he would not be required to admit to killing sandi. in fact, when he had the chance to speak, cliff reed said something that outraged the family. sandi was a very good friend to me. she was one of the nicest people i've ever known. and i certainly did not kill sandi. do you feel like cliff reed got away with murder? yes, absolutely. absolutely. andrea canning: but sandi's family doesn't blame the prosecutors. gina boone: they did what they could. i think they took on a big undertaking. and i mean, i'm thankful. i believe they did more than their job, those two. the good news for sandi is the world knows cliff reed killed her. she did not abandon her children. she did not go missing. he killed her and put her in the woods. and that is worth something to know that and say that.

andrea canning: while justice for sandi may not look quite like what anyone imagined, her family is taking solace in the beautiful person sandi was and the reflection they see of her in her children. your dad says that he sees your mom in you and your sister. do you think she would be proud of you and what you've accomplished? i think she would. that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. >> good morning, and welcome to this saturday edition of morning joe. weekend. it was a busy week with a certification of the electoral college votes and the funeral of former president jimmy carter. let's get right to some of the conversations that

yo